AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is an approach to personality profiling that uses a "prepared" deck split into trump, court and pip card sub-packs. The design employs three layers of significance: the outer rectangle of four "pip" cards displays a tableau of daily experience in four elemental attitudes or postures; the middle diamond of four court cards … Continue reading “Who Am I Right Now?” – A Three-Part Personality Profile
Divination
Projection and Reflection: Trump-Card Pairs and Triplets
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While reading The Tarot of the Bohemians by "Papus" (Gerard Encausse) I came across an interesting approach to correlating the Major Arcana that was new to me. This is the last of my essays from the book unless I read it again at some point in the future. In line with his "positive-negative-neutral-transitional" … Continue reading Projection and Reflection: Trump-Card Pairs and Triplets
The Thoth Atu or Keys: Major Arcana in Brief
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This essay - the third and final installment of my Thoth "deep dive" series - is by far the most challenging. Crowley's take on the Major Arcana was nuanced and complex, full of syncretic flourishes and just plain ol' mystical ambiguity. But at least his rarefied excursions into occult profundity were a product … Continue reading The Thoth Atu or Keys: Major Arcana in Brief
The “Glorified Pip Cards” of the Thoth Tarot
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Today I'm embarking on my promised "deep dive" into the Thoth tarot, beginning with the Minor Arcana. Note, however, that I'm not going to present an exhaustive card-by-card analysis of divinatory content; I've already done that in my posted "Tarot 101" course material, which is primarily Thoth-based, and in a more general way … Continue reading The “Glorified Pip Cards” of the Thoth Tarot
Quantity or Quality? (The Blogger’s Challenge)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've decided that it's time for a recap. For the past 224 days I've written a brief essay every morning on a range of topics related to divination, typically three or four paragraphs in length but more recently running from five to eight paragraphs. At least within the narrow range of my chosen … Continue reading Quantity or Quality? (The Blogger’s Challenge)
“Putting A Face To It” – Physical Profiling with the Tarot
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Most of us have felt the quandary expressed in the trope "I know the name but I can't put a face to it." I'm often asked whether the court cards of the tarot can be used to reliably describe the physical characteristics of someone involved in the querent's life. Here is my answer … Continue reading “Putting A Face To It” – Physical Profiling with the Tarot
Breaking Into Spreads: A Beginner’s Syllabus
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is another essay prompted by a "frequently asked question" from the online tarot community. Tarot beginners who follow the conventional wisdom of learning the cards one-at-a-time, both in a sequential "card-a-day" manner and via single-card pulls, are often unsure how they can break out of that narrow box and into more complex … Continue reading Breaking Into Spreads: A Beginner’s Syllabus
Thoughts on Thoth
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've written about the Thoth deck many times in the past but lately, as I roam the online tarot community, I've encountered Thoth novices who have just discovered it and who, while fascinated by its esoteric depth, are nervous about having anything to do with its co-creator, Aleister Crowley. (They have yet to … Continue reading Thoughts on Thoth
Harbingers of Change
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Every tarot card, no matter how static-seeming, is a harbinger of some kind of change, good or bad and great or small. In combination, the cards convey a "state of becoming" in the form of tendencies and trends rather than one of merely "being." Otherwise there would be no reason to include all … Continue reading Harbingers of Change
Lines, Circles and T-Squares: The Three-Card Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Dreams have a way of bringing things to your attention that would have never crossed your mind. This one sharpened my view of the three-card spread. A few days ago I dreamed I was having a conversation with a former subordinate (someone I haven't supervised in over twenty years) about the nature of … Continue reading Lines, Circles and T-Squares: The Three-Card Reading
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 